Introduction
Despite initial uncertainty at the start of 2025 due to U.S. trade policy, Mexico witnessed a surge in new foreign direct investments (FDI). However, this growth was unevenly distributed across the Mexican states.
New FDI in Mexico: An Overview
According to the Secretaría de Economía, new FDI in Mexico totaled $1,586 million in the first quarter of 2025, marking the highest amount since the same period in 2023. However, it only accounted for 7.4% of the total FDI, which was lower than the 10.4% recorded in all of 2024.
State-wise Disparity
The distribution of new FDI varied significantly among Mexican states. The City of Mexico led with $825.7 million, accounting for 52.1% of the total FDI during the reference period.
Quintana Roo, known for its tourism industry, followed with $290.9 million, while Jalisco came in third with $91 million.
Baja California, Baja California Sur, Nayarit, and Guanajuato attracted between $44 and $90 million each. A group of states, including Nuevo León, Guerrero, Querétaro, Yucatán, and Coahuila, received between $15 and $36 million.
At the lower end, states like Sonora, Sinaloa, Estado de México, Puebla, Veracruz, Tabasco, Colima, Tamaulipas, Campeche, and Tlaxcala received less than $8 million.
States with No New FDI
Nine Mexican states did not attract any new foreign investment in the first quarter of 2025: Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas. Only Oaxaca reported an outflow of $14 million.
Importance of FDI for Mexico
FDI plays a crucial role in Mexico’s economic development, driving growth, creating jobs, and modernizing sectors like automotive, manufacturing, and technology. It also reflects confidence in the country’s macroeconomic stability.
Security and legal certainty are vital for attracting foreign investment, as they build confidence in the country’s stability.
Uneven Distribution: A Sign of Unequal Confidence
The acceleration in new FDI in Mexico signifies increased confidence from foreign investors, but this confidence was not uniform across the country.
Misconceptions about Nearshoring
New FDI and Relocation of Global Supply Chains:
The new FDI influx does not indicate a “revival” of relocating global supply chains (nearshoring). Most new foreign investments went to Mexico City and Quintana Roo, both service-based economies. Moreover, no Asian territories, theoretically key to nearshoring, appeared among the top sources of new FDI.
By type of investment, 77.9% of FDI in Q1 was reinvestment of profits, 14.7% was trade receivables, and only 7.4% were new investments.
Top FDI Sources
By country, the largest new FDI amounts came from Spain ($654 million), Canada ($373 million), the U.S. ($288 million), and Germany ($91 million).
In total FDI, which amounted to $21,373 million, the U.S. led with $8,264 million, followed by Spain, the Netherlands, Australia, and Canada.
By economic sector, multiple banking captured $4,445 million; automobile and truck manufacturing followed, along with metallic mining, beverage production, and wholesale trade of automobiles, trucks, and parts.
Key Questions and Answers
- Q: What is the total new FDI in Mexico for Q1 2025? A: $1,586 million
- Q: How does Mexico’s new FDI compare to 2024? A: It accounted for 7.4% in Q1 2025, lower than the 10.4% recorded in all of 2024.
- Q: Which state received the most new FDI? A: The City of Mexico received $825.7 million, or 52.1% of the total new FDI.
- Q: What sectors attracted the most new FDI? A: Multiple banking, automobile and truck manufacturing, metallic mining, beverage production, and wholesale trade of automobile parts were the top sectors.
- Q: How many states did not attract any new FDI in Q1 2025? A: Nine states, including Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Durango, Hidalgo, Michoacán, Morelos, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas, did not attract any new FDI.
- Q: What does the uneven distribution of new FDI indicate? A: It indicates varying levels of confidence among foreign investors across different Mexican regions.
